Savannah's Steak and Seafood

Savannah's Steak and Seafood and the Augusta Pines Grill Room are the same place--the bar and more formal eatery at the Augusta Pines Country Club.  The club is private but Savannah's is open to the public.  I've given it a fairly extensive review because they have almost no social media presence at all, and yet it's been here awhile and we have friends that have gone there to eat.

The atmosphere is very much old-school country club--they have a replica of one of the bridges at Augusta National in the lobby.  The furniture is formal and the woodwork is dark.  But the service atmosphere is laid back.  We came on a quiet Saturday evening and were told to just sit anywhere.  There are only a few tables near the bar but it was not crowded, just a few regulars.

The menu has a variety of items from appetizers through sandwiches to some higher end entrees.  We went in for a Father's Day dinner and got items from across the board.  They had avocado toast on the menu, and that's such a thing now we had to have it, along with some southwest eggrolls.  The avocado toast was pretty much that--ciabatta crostinis with a generous amount of guacamole, with a little pico garnish.  The eggrolls were store bought but had a good sauce with them.

My older daughter had a "build your own flatbread" from the lighter menu.  This is a thin crust pizza.  It was a pretty good pizza, with a somewhat fancier price for the name.

My other daughter had the fried shrimp with onion rings and hush puppies.  The shrimp were breaded in a cornbread batter.  The batter was crisp but not too flavorful.  The shrimp were just a bit squishy but OK.  Hush puppies were a bit underdone.  The rings were pretty on target though.

My wife got the crown of the menu, an 8 oz filet.  It was seasoned with garlic steak butter.  Nice and tender, didn't need a steak knife to cut it, which was fortunate because one was not offered.  The garlic was pretty overwhelming, though, so one couldn't really taste the meat.  Our entrees came with sauteed vegetables, which were tasty except for the clashing packaged carrots.  She had mashed potatoes, which were that and nothing more.  No skins, even, and no condiments (butter, sour cream, etc) were offered.

I had the Blackened Redfish Pontchartrain.  The fish itself was done pretty well, maybe a touch over, but good.  The sauce was kind of disappointing. Very little crawfish (out of season here, but I am not sure they use fresh anyway), and the flavor was ok but lacking something, I'm not sure what.  The dirty rice had decent flavor but a lot of very dry spots.

They don't have a dessert menu but they did have a cheesecake and a chocolate mousse cake, both drizzled with chocolate and raspberry sauce.  They were store bought, but the chocolate mousse cake had good creamy mousse.

The place accommodates families, we had one next to us with a baby in a high chair.  I couldn't recommend it for fine dining, they are overpriced for packaged food, but we had some evidence that they could do the less ambitious items well.  I could definitely see having a business lunch with a drink and a sandwich there, and being pretty happy.  It would be a generic beer though, they haven't gone to any effort to have craft or local beers available.

Overall, I got the impression of a very fancy place that has seen somewhat better days.  It's very clean and functional, and the staff remembered regulars, but at this point the clubhouse will neither sell nor detract from the course.

Northampton News Article: Butler House

This article appeared in the June Northampton Newsletter:

The house on the west side of Gosling Road, not far north of Root Road, is familiar to most long-time residents of Northampton and the surrounding neighborhoods.  That house is now The Butler House, the centerpiece of the Vintage Creek Centre.  Both are owned by Bryan Frenchak and Marina (Silver) Frenchak.  This is their first restaurant venture, and it’s still early but it is off to an excellent start.

The inspiration for The Butler House is Butler, PA, where Bryan Frenchak grew up.  The house has that feeling of a home in an older rural town.  The doorway is just a bit narrow and was given that distressed look of a home that has seen much history.  Silver says the movie “Up” describes their spirit of adventure in converting the house into a restaurant.  It’s easy to imagine this house in “Up”—a comfortable home that looks just a little out of place.

The décor inside is deliberately simple but carefully crafted.  The leather seating in the booths was done on site, and if you look under the table you’ll see that the legs are made from antique ice tongs.  It’s a kind of elegance you feel more than see.  

Manager Mark Herman (of Tommy Bahamas and most recently Hubbell and Hudson) and executive chef Andrew Donahoo have put together a menu that covers upscale dishes and traditional Texas favorites.  We’ve had the rib-eye steak with mushroom risotto (perfectly executed, which is no easy task) and a Korubuta pork shank as a special.  The pork was falling-off-the-bone tender with delicious Moroccan spices.  The desserts held their own with the entrées—the flourless chocolate cake coats your mouth wonderfully, and the toffee bread pudding reminded me just a bit of eating a delicious pancake.  The chicken fried steak is tender with a light crust that makes it stand out from your usual CFS offering.  They have an excellent selection of cocktails—I tried the Lemon Drop and it is true to its name.

The restaurant has an upscale feel but intends to be casual—as Silver puts it, “like Sunday afternoon at your grandmother’s”.  They have toys, chalk, and a field area for children, and plan to make a pet area.  It’s intended to be for everyone.  

The restaurant has family friendly events—there’s a children’s buffet on Sunday morning, and Old Movie nights are on Wednesdays.  They schedule many special events, a large portion of which support local ministries—supporting their community with charitable work is close to their hearts.  Their Facebook page is the best source of information for these events.  

The Butler House seems like the perfect addition to our area—an upscale restaurant that is actively welcoming to families.  We’ll be back again soon.

Sunday Skillet Chicken

The Citgo station on Kuykendall near the Rayford intersection has a separately branded food operation inside called Sunday Skillet Chicken.  My number one restaurant in the neighborhood (Tony's Street Tacos) is in a gas station, and Laredo Taco Company in Stripes is good too, so I had some hopes. 

 I stopped in to get some lunch the other day.  The guy in the store was friendly and helpful, but there wasn't much food made.  They mostly had tacos ready, but I was wanting some chicken.  They had very little chicken made, just a couple of breasts and some wings.  I had some wings and some fried "tilapia" they had ready (I think it was catfish, actually).

The food was not dried out, as sometimes happens when it's been sitting.  But the breading on both the tilapia and the wings was really salty, almost to the point of burning.  The wings were spicy too, which might have contributed.  I had potato wedges with them and they were pretty bland, oddly enough.  So all in all not too pleasant.  Sometimes gas station food is good, but not this stuff.

My Yelp Review

Starbucks at Rayford and Kuykendall

An interesting part of doing these reviews is people watching in the various kinds of restaurants.  A BBQ crowd is in many ways similar to a Mexican restaurant crowd, but those are very different from folks you find at a taco truck.  I've been to our three area Starbucks, and not surprisingly it's a group with a very different feel from other places.  In this one in particular I felt like I was in Seattle, except for the accents.  Focused students, earnest real estate people closing deals, the distinct caffeine buzz--it's all there.  Travel without traveling.

Stopped in to the one at Rayford and Kuykendall today for a light lunch.  I had the turkey and swiss protein box, some Emmy's Dark Cacao Coconut cookies, and a Teavana shaken iced tea.

I like the coffee products at Starbucks, but I have not had tea there and wanted to see if they could elevate ordinary black tea.  Answer: Yes, a little.  I could see that the iced tea was shaken, it had a little head on it.  The areation actually does make some difference to the flavor, but in the end it's iced tea that's been shaken.  Back to the coffee products for me.

The protein box was a nice healthy bite--little turkey and swiss sandwiches with very sweet red peppers, some carrot sticks and apples.  Fine.  The cookies were pretty good, I would get those again.  But in the end, at Starbucks the coffee is fresh and made on site, while all the food is highly curated packaged product.  Consistent but not wonderful.

Service was pretty good--reasonably polite.  I did have to wait just a bit longer than one would think necessary for a shaken glass of tea, but not too bad.  The wifi was working well even though several people were using it, many streaming with multiple devices.  I gave it the Pokemon Go test (they are a sponsor) and it worked just fine.

The two unisex restrooms (a good idea in my book) were plenty clean for a Saturday noon.  If you like Starbucks you'll like this one.

My Yelp Review

Schlotzky's at Kuykendall near 2920

Schlotzsky's sandwiches are unique--it's really difficult to compare to any other sandwich place, and they have other things on the menu too, so once in awhile you just have to have a Schlotzsky's.  I had not tried this location yet, so I went to check it out.

Right at the start I saw a good example of customer service.  A woman was ordering for two people while having a continuous phone conversation.  She would ask for a sandwich, then eliminate the ingredients she didn't want one by one, around the conversation.  The man (the owner I think) was patient throughout the ordeal, and the woman left with a correct order and a smile.  Good on him.

Schlotzsky's has added mac and cheese ("Macs") since I was there last.  I tried out a Pick Two of the Smoky Brisketeer mac and a Beef Bacon Smokecheesy half sandwich, with a drink and a mini Cinnabon for dessert.

I'm not usually a big mac 'n' cheese fan, but I was glad I tried the Smoky Brisketeer.  Mac 'n' cheese topped with brisket, bbq sauce, jalapenos, and red peppers, so it's pretty strong.  The brisket is finely shredded so it eats well, and the flavors were good.  Others who know mac 'n' cheese better would have to judge that part.

The Beef Bacon Smokecheesy was excellent.  The toasted sourdough bun was perfect (and the plate came with a little sourdough crostini that was quite nice).  The cheese was indeed smoky and went well with the bacon and beef.  The sandwich ate well too, didn't pull apart in strings as beef and bacon sometimes do.

The Cinnabon was a disappointment.  Tasted like it was several days old.  Another reviewer has said the same, so I would avoid them.

The bathroom was clean and ready when I was there.  A downside, and this is at the franchise level--the doors are labeled "shapely bunz" (women) and "manly bunz" (men, as you might guess).  Really?  It's the twenty-first century, try to keep up.  And apparently it has been this way for awhile, at least since 2011.  They are pretty committed to it, the stock symbol is BUNZ. 

Overall it was just fine.  Their menu has great variety, including pizza we've had before that was quite good. The franchise could use some encouragement to lose the retro attitude signage, and the location could lose those Cinnabons.

My Yelp Review

Remove review